The moment of the match for Mesa Vista came in the second set, when junior Brittni Suazo went up for a block.
She denied a shot from Escalante senior Brycelyn Martinez, likely the best hitter in the conference if not the state, scoring a point on the other side.
“I’ve always wanted to be able to block Brycelyn,” Suazo said in a show of respect to her competitor. “Being able to block her, it helped pick up my energy, it helped pick up the team’s energy.”
Ultimately, though, Escalante (17-2, 7-0 in district) continued its winning streak with a straight sets win — 25-12, 25-6, 25-14 — over the Trojans (3-12, 2-5) on Thursday.
“It was a tough game, it was,” Suazo said. “But, we learn from it, we understood what we need to do, and what we need to improve on. We’ll get there.”
The Lady Trojans were without multiple starters who were at an FFA contest in Indianapolis.
“I thought they did really well,” said first-year coach Renee Torrez. “You could tell, they really came out, and they really wanted to give them a game this time.”
Suazo and Jaslene Torrez led the defensive-minded team with a pair of kills each. Gabby Griego recorded two aces.
Emma Meastas recorded 33 assists for the Lady Lobos. Ashley Gilmore and Martinez both had 12 kills, while Alani Yeahquo had 11. Libero Jayden Macias had five aces.
Suazo said the team is looking to improve their energy in matches.
“We have the skills to be a great team,” Suazo said. “But right now, we just lack our energy. We get down on ourselves really easily.”
The first set saw Mesa Vista take an early lead with a short run, but Escalante battled out to go ahead 17-9, and quickly finished the set from there. Escalante won the first four points in the second set, and finished on a 14-1 run while lighting up the scoreboard. They finished the match with a 10-point run in the third set that put them ahead 18-7, and scored the last four points to win the third set.
Earlier, the Escalante junior varsity team won 25-16, 25-11.
“It’s been a tough season, coming in with our two new coaches,” Suazo said. “But we’re all learning now to play as a team.